My Experience at PBIS

Very recently, I was given the opportunity to join a group that provided me with the opportunity to present at my county’s administrative building. I was presenting on behalf of PBIS, or Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports. Usually, only teachers and administrators present at that event, but my school’s assistant principal decided that it would be very unique and powerful if students presented instead.

The presentation itself was about what programs my school had put into place to prevent troublesome behaviors that we had pinpointed from data. The program that I was presenting for was the Student Advisory Planning Team. I was invited into it, even though it’s not an exclusive program, to plan advisory lessons for students, by students. Advisory is a thirty-minute period in between our first and second blocks. On Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, students go to their teachers to conference grades, study, and anything else to help them in that class. On Wednesday, however, students go to advisory, a class that acts as homeroom, where forms can be handed out, SATs can be taken, and valuable lessons can be taught.

Having lessons in advisory provides an opportunity for students to plan lessons in the form of the Student Advisory Planning Team. As a team, we meet up once at the beginning of each semester to discuss what we deem important subjects to address in the form of lessons. The ideas are written up on a board and the students call dibs on which lessons they want to plan. From there, the groups would plan the lessons in their free time and turn the lesson plans in and get them checked by an administrator.

Having students plan the advisory lessons benefits the school in a surprising amount of ways. The biggest pro about it is that it strengthens the school community vibe. When students are placed in a position of power, like planning school-wide lessons, they are more eager to be involved in the school community. It also makes advisory more enjoyable for students that aren’t participating in the Planning Team, despite the fact that the team isn’t selective. Because students planned the lesson for other students, the lesson tends to be more enjoyable to learn for them.

The main reasons of establishing programs like this are to cut down on bad behavior and strengthen school interest, but there are so many ways to do it. The most important aspect to have, however, is that the students are working with the teachers to accomplish real, tangible results, not worksheets. But, with requirements as few as that, there are unlimited ways to carry this out.

Susan Ohanian, for example, set up an extracurricular activity in which students gave up their lunch blocks to write rather than doing the misbehaviors I mentioned. The lure of a positive activity that a teacher set up prevented kids from loitering around the bathrooms and doing other misbehaviors. “The lure of writer’s workshop… the promise of peace and quiet.” (Caught in the Middle, 2001). Once the students were intrigued, Susan worked with the students to better their writing and eventually publish a real anthology. Susan Ohanian executed that very well. She worked with students to create real results and through doing it, prevented undesirable behavior.

            Another possibility could be something like an administration discussion. Students could go there and state their opinions. They would work with one another and the administration, perhaps making new school rules or organizations. They would obviously be connected to the teachers through talking with them. They would also churn out lots of improvements, making the school a better place.

It’s very important to have organizations like these in place, not only to prevent bad behavior, but also to teach students important skills, primarily teamwork. Students working with administration also yields lots of results like school being better or books being published. Having organizations like these in place also increase the students’ eagerness for school and the other aspects of their lives, which boosts morale.

I hope that administrators or teachers reading this can utilize the traits that all of the aforementioned organizations share to create their own unique organizations that benefit their school and students in many ways.

Ohanian, Susan. Caught in the Middle: Nonstandard Kids and a Killing Curriculum. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2001. Print.

The 5 Senses in a Classroom

Imagine that you’re a student on the first day of school. You walk into your first class of the day. The room is bleak. It has no posters or other distinguishing features. There are no windows and the only source of light is from fluorescent lights above your head. There is an alphabetical seating chart and the desks are arranged in rows, all facing a board in the front of the classroom that reads the teacher’s name. This isn’t an uncommon experience for an average student.             

Now, imagine that you’re in the shoes of a student who doesn’t play school. You walk into class with your headphones in and your head hung low, oblivious to your surroundings. You plop down in the same chair you’ve been sitting in all year and prepare yourself for another lesson you’re not interested. The only time you show signs of life is when the bell rings and you quickly exit the classroom, preparing to relive the cycle in your next class. When you finally get home after what feels like and endless day, you don’t want to do your homework. So, you don’t.

So, what happens when you mix a bland classroom with a nontraditional student? Nothing. When students don’t care about the teachings and the teachers have given up on the students, nothing happens. Nothing is achieved. The students simply tune out the class and wait it out and when the teacher doesn’t try to encourage them, nothing changes.

When a student first walks into a classroom, they draw all their conclusions about the teacher just based on the room. Right then, they decide if the teacher is boring or interesting or whatever else based off a single glance. If the students see a room like the one I described, they lose all hope in liking the class, forming a connection, and having a good year. While a classroom doesn’t define how good or bad a teacher is, it has a HUGE influence. So, when a single glance determines how a student feels about the teacher for the rest of the year, the teacher really has to nail their image.

There are so many simple things to change about the classroom to make it more interesting. Teachers could have unique decorations that kids take interest in. Something as simple as that would make the student pay closer attention, just because they’re more interested in the teacher. Room decoration should also appeal to the senses and work towards a more comfortable learning environment that will enhance the student’s education.

I feel that sight is the most important sense to be pleased when decorating a room. It’s the most prominent sense that the students use when they’re in the classroom. They form the majority of their preconceptions about the teacher based on what kind of posters they have or if they have action figures or not. However, when a teacher decorates their room they shouldn’t blindly throw posters up that they know nothing about, as the kids will think that they’re trying way too hard to seem cool. When decorating a classroom, teachers should find the area where their interests overlap with the students, so that they can form connections with the students and realize increased class participation. The other huge aspect of appealing visually to students is how teachers arrange the desks. If a teacher wants to appear cool to the students, then they should probably arrange the desks in groups. Most students prefer to be able to socialize with peers, so when a teacher grants them that, they’re more likely to care about the teacher’s class.

            When students first walk to class, the first taste of the class could be heard in the form of music drifting into the hall. Before class starts, quiet music could be beneficial to students, as it won’t distract them, but only provide a more easygoing environment to learn in. It doesn’t even matter if the music is new or old, because it’s hard to know what type of music can affect a kid’s mood for the better.

            Smell can also be utilized when designing a classroom. Although it’s not a prominent sense that kids notice right away, they could feel more at peace because it doesn’t smell like printer paper and they don’t even notice it. All a teacher would need to do would be to add a scented air freshener of whatever scent they choose.

            Another important part of classroom design is feel. Not mental feel, but how the classroom literally feels beneath your fingers. This is a lot harder to achieve than the other senses, because changing what a classroom feels like is hard. Most classrooms have lots of hard surfaces like desks and chairs that are uncomfortable to sit in for long periods of time. To change that, the easiest solution would probably be to add pillow, cushions, beanbags, or couches. I can’t explain it myself, but sitting in a cozy chair makes me feel much more important and more inclined to be productive.  

            A classroom can also leave a taste in your mouth. The taste of a classroom isn’t the literal taste of the components that make it up, but how the other four senses work together to leave an impression on the student. When the four senses are utilized well in a classroom, they can create a whole different feeling than that of a standard classroom. A well-organized classroom can have a relaxing and safe aura that promotes productivity and creativity and has students leaving with a great taste in their mouths. Susan Ohanian has a great example of this when she says, “Four eighth-grade girls come every day…The girls hate the noise of the cafeteria as much as I do.” (Caught in the Middle, 2001) Ohanian set up such a positive environment, students are giving up their lunch because they care about the subject. All students “Can learn, if they want to learn” (Seeking Diversity, 1992), and a good classroom environment like Ohanian’s can create that want to learn.

            I hope that the teachers reading this blog can utilize the four senses I described to reorganize their classroom, which I’m sure are already vibrant places that leave students with a good taste in their mouth.

Ohanian, Susan. Caught in the Middle: Nonstandard Kids and a Killing Curriculum. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2001. Print.

Rief, Linda. Seeking Diversity: Language Arts with Adolescents. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann Educational, 1992. Print.